“MEDIA” – What’s it???

 

In general “Media” refers to various means of communication (Newspaper, Radio, Television, Internet etc.). Media is the most powerful tool of communication. It helps promoting the right things on right time. The term can also be used as a collective noun for press or news reporting agencies.

Media in Pakistan provides information on television, radio, cinema, newspapers, and magazines in Pakistan. Veteran dissident and intellectual Noam Chomsky stated in an interview which he repeated some of his well-known comments about the control of the media, he said: “I spent three weeks in India and a week in Pakistan. A friend of mine here, (he was in London when he was interviewed) Iqbal Ahmed, told me that I would be surprised to find that the media in Pakistan is more open, free and vibrant than that in India.” He added: “In Pakistan, I listened to and read the media which go to a increasingly large part of the population. Apparently, the government is willing to say to the media that you have your fun, we are not going to bother you. So they don’t interfere with it.”[1]

Christine Fair, a senior political analyst and specialist in South Asian political and military affairs at the Rand Corporation praised the Pakistani Media as a role model and an example for other Muslim countries to follow by stating “The only hope for Pakistanis is that the media will continue to mobilise people. The media have done a great job, even if they are at times very unprofessional, and have to come to term with the limits between journalism and political engagement

 

History of Pakistan media

 

When we talk about media, we must know its history. Media history is based on PRINT media or we can say that it is the oldest media of mass communication.

Greater masses can abstract the information after its emergence. They allow reader to control exposure.

In the beginning (1947), Pakistan started a weak press with very little rules and regulations (very few news). Not a single newspaper was published in East Pakistan and Baluchistan, but in the NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa) had two daily newspapers. These newspapers were owned by Muslims who had migrated to Pakistan. Including Daily Azad and Moring news (shifted to Dhaka), Jang, dawn and anjam (in Karachi)

After Pakistan came in to his existence, a number of newspapers were published, but due to financial problems and many other reasons, they did not continue their publication such as ROSHNI, INQALAB and MUSALMAN.

English press was not so strong at that time due to problems like lack of education and development. Not a single daily had been published from the area of East Pakistan from 1947 to 1971.

The first news agency was APP (Associated Press of Pakistan). It was established in 1947. It was a private news agency since 1947 to 1961. Government took its control on 1961 by an ordinance.

Except APP, there are six more agencies in Pakistan: PPI (Pakistan Press International) 1968, PA (Pakistan Agency) 1992, UNA (United news agency) and NNI (News Network International) 1992.

With the passage of time the role of media is increasing day by day

Purpose of media

 

In modern society, media is everywhere, and it is almost impossible to avoid.
According to
Media Magic
by Gregory Mantsios, “Americans spend an average of
twenty-eight hours per week watching television. They also spend an undetermined
number of hours reading periodicals, listening to the radio, and going to the movies.”
The mass media have become such an ordinary, everyday part of society that many
people fail to realize the immense impact which the mass media have on all aspects of
society – including political, economic, and ideological aspects. The mass media
influence the way we vote, the things we buy, the way we act, the values we hold, and the
way we perceive reality.
When the 2008 Presidential campaigns began, Republican congressman Ron Paul
seemed like the clear frontrunner. He won more straw polls than any other candidate.
John McCain, on the other hand, did not win a single state straw poll. And Rudy Giuliani
faced utter humiliation – loosing to Ron Paul in almost every straw poll in the nation.
Ron Paul seemed unstoppable, and his campaign gained fast momentum in what became
known as the “Ron Paul Revolution”. Ron Paul had no official campaign staff, and he
never accepted a single penny from lobbyists. His supporters ran everything – putting up
Ron Paul signs all over the country in what became known as the “Ron Paul Sign Bomb”,
flying a blimp across the nation that said, “Google Ron Paul” on the side, and raising
$6,200,000 in one day – the largest amount of money ever raised in one day by anyone,
ever – in what became known as the “Ron Paul Money Bomb.” Yet even with world
records being broken by Ron Paul, the mainstream media acted like Ron Paul was not
even in the race. Political pundits on FOX were proclaiming Rudy Giuliani as the
“frontrunner”, even though Ron Paul was scoring far higher in the straw polls. The
average Joe naively assumed that the pundits knew that they were talking about. Only
those who bothered to research the straw poll results for themselves found the
discrepancies in the mainstream media’s reporting. The pundits were proven wrong when
Ron Paul beat Giuliani two to one (and in some cases even three to one) in every single
state primary until Giuliani finally dropped out of the race. Yet the average Joe seemed to
never even notice that the pundits were wrong. Here the mainstream media was, lying to
his face, and the average Joe never even blinked.
The censorship of Ron Paul continued
when FOX hosted a Republican debate shortly before Giuliani dropped out of the race.
Only those candidates that Fox thought had a good chance of winning were invited.
Despite the fact that Ron Paul had beat Rudy Giuliani two to one in every state primary,
Rudy Giuliani was invited to the debate and Ron Paul was not.
To those who bothered to be good citizens and true patriots by researching what
was actually happening in the election rather than blindly following the mainstream
media like some mind-controlled slave, Google revealed the truth with its ability to record

Role of Media in Pakistan

 

In today’s world, media has made a very special place for itself in our lives. If I say that today, media has become as important as food and clothing, then I don t think so that I am over exaggerating anything. There is no denial that media is playing a very significant role in making the world smaller. Through various mediums of media whether it is radio, television, newspaper or internet, we are able to connect with large number of people around us. Especially internet has truly become the need of every individual both for our work and to connect with our friends and well wishers. Facebook, Orkut and Twitter have occupied such special place in our lives that if we are not a part of it, then there is something really important that we are missing.

Besides connecting with our friends, media also informs us about the world happenings. In one line I can say that media is like a mirror of the society which reflect each and everything about the society to us. Media people from television and print takes the risk of their lives to inform us about important news. To some extent I can compare these brave journalists with our soldiers who do not bother about their lives and takes the responsibility to aware the general masses about the truth. I think it is almost impossible to imagine a life without media.

But one also can not overlook this fact that slowly commercialization is also coming in media. Media has a huge responsibility of conveying the truth and relevant information to the common man. But somewhere this seems to be taking a back seat for media people as they are focusing more on commercialization. Now a days, hot news which can help in increasing the TRP rates of the channel becomes the priority for them. But there are still some ethical people in media who are struggling to maintain the real purpose of it.

But media is not just confine to informing us about the world happenings and serving a means to connect with people, in fact it also affects out thinking patterns as well. The way we think and perceive various issues about the world is also shaped up by media. Today everyone especially youth is growing so aware about his responsibilities towards society is because of media. Campaign such as Teach India and Jaago Grahak Jaago helps in spreading awareness about human rights and duties.

When it comes to media, how can one forget to talk about the entertainment industry? Entertainment is something that one can not live without. Be it movies, radio, internet etc., media is just everywhere in our life. Today entertainment is so easily available that every common person is able to afford it. Music and movies are so easily available to us through the internet that one does not have to spend loads of money on them.

If we just look around then we would find that there is no aspect of our life which is not touched and affected by media. Be it our work, relationships, education or entertainment, media is seen everywhere. And there is no denial that we can not live without media.

Positive Aspects

Media has served as a boon to mankind. It has provided us with an exposure to the world outside our cozy homes. It has resulted in an exchange of views on a variety of subjects of a wide variety of people from all around the world, thereby leading to aglobal exchange of information and knowledge. Mass media has given each of us a platform to voice our opinions on all sorts of social and political issues and share information with one another. It has brought out easy ways of communication and provided us with easily accessible means to reach out to people in various parts of the world. Thanks to technological development, we have been able to obtain a platform that enables us to present ourselves to the rest of the world. The negative influences of media that are a result of an overexposure to it, are most often talked about. It is true to a certain extent that media has affected the society in a negative manner. But, undoubtedly, media has proved being a bliss.

The media like television, radio and the Internet increase an overall awareness of the masses. They enhance the general knowledge by providing us with information from all over the world. News broadcast through different media helps us know about the day-to-day events in the world. News, tele-films and documentaries revolving around social issues increase a social awareness in children and develop their concern towards society.

Newspapers, apart from updating us with the latest news and new information, also contribute to the enhancement of our vocabulary. Newspapers are the best beginners in developing reading habits in children. Through the print media, they provide the general public with a platform to give updates about their parts of the city, exchange their views over different issues that the society faces and share their thoughts on a larger scale.

Media serve as the best means for a speedy spread of news about important incidents or events taking place. What has happened in the remotest corner of the world can reach us within minutes, thanks to media. The speed that technology has achieved is helpful in times of crisis when media is to be used for reporting news needing immediate attention.

Research has revealed that media is responsible for influencing a major part of our daily life. Media contribute to a transformation in the cultural and social values of the masses. Media can bring about a change in the attitudes and beliefs of the common man. The persuasive nature of the content presented over media influences the thoughts and behavior of the general public. Media has a direct impact over the lifestyle of society.

The recent advent of blogging in the media world and practices like public polls and citizen journalism, have led to the achievement of a social control. These concepts have strengthened the relationship between the media and the common man. They have brought the general masses closer to their society.

Negative Aspects

Media’s Negative Influence

Blind Imitation: When you try to imitate your role models from the glamor industry, do you give a thought to whether you are doing right or wrong? It is often seen that young girls and boys imitate celebrities blindly. The impact of media is such that the wrong, the controversial, the bad is more talked about. Sometimes, little things are blown out of proportion thus changing the way they are perceived by the audience. Media highlights controversies and scandals in the lives of celebrities. The masses fall for this being-in-the-news and end up imitating celebrities without much thought. Those at a vulnerable age, especially children and teenagers are highly influenced by anything that is put before them in a jazzy way. At that age, they are attracted to anything that’s flashy and anything that can make news.

Wrong Message: The negatives in society are highlighted with the purpose of awakening people about them. For example, the negative effects of addiction are portrayed through advertisements. Newspapers, television and the Internet are used to convey social messages. But unfortunately sometimes, the message is misconstrued. The ‘awakening’ does not reach everyone or it reaches the masses in the wrong way. So there is a section positively influenced by the media while there are others who take the wrong message from it. Media influences them negatively. What is shown with an intent to ‘spread a message’ ends up becoming a bombardment of the bad, the ugly. The bad is overinflated and the good goes unnoticed. Depiction of the bad has a negative impact on kids not mature enough to interpret what they are being shown. It’s not just media to be blamed in this case. Parents and teachers have a big role to play in selecting what the young should see and what they should not.

Negativity: To some extent, media is responsible for generating negative feelings among those exposed to it. An early exposure to bold or violent films, books publishing adult content and news portraying ugly social practices has a deep impact on young minds. If children are bombarded with fight sequences, stunt work, sex and rape scenes, suicides and murders through books or movies, they are bound to leave a scar on these impressionable minds. And not just children, the unpleasant can impact even an adult’s mind. Adults may have the maturity to distinguish between the good and the bad, but bombarding only the bad can affect anyone at least at the subconscious level. Haven’t you had experiences of a bad dream after watching a violent movie? Or of imagining something scary happening to you after watching a horror film? Or a sudden fear gripping your mind after reading about a murder in your city? The reality should be depicted but not so gaudily that it’ll have a lasting impact on people’s minds.

Unhealthy Lifestyle: Media is held responsible for the change in eating habits of teenagers and the unhealthy lifestyle they are adopting. You ask me why? Well, because there are these junk food advertisements everywhere. There’s no one advertising the benefits of eating fresh fruit everyday, no one’s promoting drinking 8 glasses of water daily. The benefits of following a balanced diet are not being hyped anywhere. Media is exposing the masses to fast food products, canned food, fad diets and energy drinks. This is leading teenagers to adopt unhealthy eating habits. No one’s propagating the importance of exercising to keep fit. But there are advertisements of expensive exercise equipment and weight and fat loss programs. Watching TV or browsing the web late night is spoiling the sleeping habits of many.

Conclusion

  As media technology has evolved, the presence of images has come to dominate news coverage — especially in times of war. This shift to image based media has changed how the public digests news. During the heyday of print, Americans had to construct a story in their minds based on what they read. But in the age of images, emotionally loaded photographs and moving pictures leave less to rational interpretation by the viewer. This is nowhere more apparent than in a time of war.

Especially in recent times, images of death and destruction have negatively influenced public sentiment. While in World War II, a war mainly covered by heavily censored print journalism, there was a general positive consensus on the war, the Vietnam conflict marked a dramatic change. Every night American audiences watched the war from their living rooms, seeing graphic imagery of death and mutilation. Images were not totally responsible for turning the tide against the war, but they were much more divisive than the print medium of World War II.

Television has taken center stage in modern media. Americans no longer turn to newspapers as their primary source of information — television and other image media are too ingrained in culture. These images have become the essence of reporting as they present the public with their version of events like wars in a psychologically charged medium.